My Current Skincare Routine + Favorite Beauty Products

November 18, 2017

At 37 years old, I’ve come to accept that I ain’t no spring chicken, and I’m not getting any younger. If anything, this past summer, I realized it was time to step it up with my skincare routine. Holy sun damage! Related: Have you read this blog post yet?

I love trying new beauty products, but I hate wasting my money on ones that don’t work. Before I discovered how many chemical sensitivities I had and found Beautycounter, I would typically buy products at random drugstores and, usually, whatever was on sale at the time. I didn’t think twice about ingredients or what I was putting on my body. I also just wanted a beauty routine that was simple and no-nonsense. I’m not a fancy product/makeup gal, but I like to look somewhat put together.

Since starting with Beautycounter earlier this year, the most common question that I receive is about my daily skin care routine, so I thought it would be a good time to share exactly what I’m using on my skin every morning and night, along with my makeup favorites. Most are Beautycounter products, but not all of them.

Morning Beauty Routine

Nourishing Cream Exfoliator – My go-to facewash! I love this one because it exfoliates, but doesn’t dry out my skin like some other washes. It has little non-abrasive jojoba beads in it to help slough off dry skin and organic coconut oil and aloe to soothe and hydrate. It’s quite lovely and gentle enough to use twice a day. (I use it at night too.)

MY LATEST RECIPES

Rejuvenating Radiance Serum – This serum is MY FAVORITE. If you try one thing from Beautycounter, try this product first. I’m obsessed. I also credit this product with improving the overall appearance of my skin. It helps to even skin tone and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, thanks to a combination of vitamin C, mixed fruit acid complex, and algae and marine extract. It also smells wonderful! Love, love, love! FYI: Now that it’s late fall, I’ve started using this twice a day (morning and night) just because I love it so much. In the summer though, I only used it at night because some of the exfoliating ingredients can make your skin more sensitive to sun.

Nourishing Day Cream – In the summer, I didn’t bother with moisturizer because the serum offered plenty of hydration, but now that the weather is dryer, my skin needs a little something. I love this because feels light and hydrating all at once.

Dew Skin(I wear No. 2) – I lovvvveee this product and use it every single day. It’s a tinted moisturizer has SPF in it and makes your skin, oh-so-dewy, but the coverage is pretty minimal. It’s my everyday “foundation” because it’s light, easy and has an SPF of 20. Sometimes, especially in the summer, I don’t even wear moisturizer with it because it’s so dewy.

Tint Skin (I wear Sand) – If I want more coverage because I’m going on a date night or out with friends, I’ll wear the Tint Skin, which has more coverage, but no SPF. If I know I’m going to be outside, I’ll wear the Dew Skin and the Tint Skin, but that’s only happened a few times and more so in the warmer months.

Evening Beauty Routine

Brightening Facial Mist – Once I wash and dry my face, I give it a quick spritz with the Brightening Facial Mist – no cotton ball required. Although…I’m impatient, and I’ll often use my fingers to rub it in. This mist is loaded with antioxidant vitamin C, which helps to reduce the appearance of age spots while lime pearl extract gently promotes a brighter complexion. I sometimes use this in the morning too, but I’m usually rushing to get out the door, so I often skip this step.

Night Cream– Like I said, I’m not getting any younger, and a good night cream is important to help skin repair and regenerate while we sleep. The ingredients in night creams are typically more powerful because they can absorb over night. But I don’t want my pillowcases to feel like a greasy mess, and this feels rich but not slimy.

Nourishing Eye Cream – Ugh, our eyes show aging so easily because the skin is so thin, so it’s important to find a good, thick eye cream. I like this one because it absorbs quickly, and I don’t have to wait forever to put eye makeup on after. #thestruggleisreal

Bi-Weekly Routine

Brightening Facial Mask – This mask is pretty much magic. The kaolin clay goes in for the deep clean, and the Vitamin C works to reduce dark spots. I use this when my skin feels a little splotchy, and it makes my complexion feel both brighter and more even.

Charcoal Facial Mask– OK, I’m obsessed with this one, too. The activated charcoal in it makes your pores look smaller, and the fact that it dries like clay just feels kind of cool, even if it is sort of hard to wash off without making a mess. This mask is great if you have oily skin or feel like you have clogged pores.

Vivant Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Wash – This stuff is amazing, but it’s super drying. I always joke that it rips off your face with how well it exfoliates, but I can only use it a few times a week. Otherwise, my face is flaking because it’s so dry. This 3-in-1 wash helps with acne, brightens and balances skin tone, and stimulates collagen production.

Makeup

Dew Skin – Mentioned above in Morning Routine section.

Tint Skin – Mentioned above in Morning Routine section.

Maybelline New York Eye Studio Liquid Eyeliner– This eyeliner is so easy to apply because it isn’t super liquid-y and the tip is short and sturdy. That’s probably a weird explanation, but I’ve tried a lot of eyeliners over the years and this one is the best.

Maybelline Full & Soft Mascara – I’ve tried a lot of expensive mascaras over the years, but I still love Full & Soft from Maybelline the best. It lifts and separates lashes, and it’s priced right!

Eye shadow – I’d love a recommendation! I’m using one that I’ve had for years... like seriously so long. That’s gross, right? I’m debating getting the eyeshadow pallete from Beautycounter, which looks incredible.

Question of the Day

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being super involved), how complicated/time-consuming is your daily skin care routine?

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My routine stepped up once I had my first baby and my skin started showing signs of age and sleepless nights. I’d say I’m at a four or five and actually love finding great products or rituals that have big payoff.

All I use is face wash when I shower (usually store brand or neutrogena grapefruit scrub), oil of olay lotion, and a clinique toner before bed. No make up for me (I always smear it) but I can’t live without lip balm. Great informative post!

Thanks for sharing! I always love reading about people’s beauty routine. I’ve been wanting to try BC’s Dew Skin or Tint Skin, but am so afraid of ordering the wrong shade. I appreciate you sharing your shade, but is there a way to receive a sample? Thank you!

Personally, I think the Dew Skin and Tint Skin run light. I’ve ordered both and then had to get a dark shade of each of them. Beautycounter actually has a really great return policy. Products returned within 60 days of the original order ship date are eligible for a full refund of the price you paid + applicable taxes, which means you really have nothing to lose. If you order the wrong shade, just return and get a new one! 🙂

I’m still at the CVS makeup stage–can’t quite afford the nicer stuff yet–but for what it’s worth I just got a cover girl eyeshadow palette and just having all of those color options makes it so much more fun to put makeup on. I used to use the almay one that has three colors to ‘go with’ your eye color, but I could never figure out which color to put where and how. Somehow (even though this makes no sense) with the palette it just makes sense to me? I use three or four different colors on/around my eyes every day now and it takes SECONDS. This is the one I got, and it looks like it has some similar colors to the one you’re debating–so I say do it! 🙂 http://www.ulta.com/roses-trunaked-eyeshadow-palette?productId=xlsImpprod13501003

I’d say my routine is about a 4 — I have a basic “cleanse + moisturize” thing down pat morning and night, but I do have a makeup routine that include foundation or CC cream, concealer, powder, bronzer, blush, and depending on my mood some sort of eye shadow look.

I’m in love with my Makeup Revolution eye shadow palette — it’s almost out of my three or four go-to shades!

My weekday routine (for work) typically takes 10-15 minutes for skincare and make up. On weekends (or if there is a weekday I feel like being fancy/ have something going on after work) can take 30ish minutes. I am a make up lover and I really enjoy putting it on and trying new products.

Tarte has some great, versatile eyeshadow palettes–you can do neutral ‘everyday’ make up or glam it up. They are also cruelty free, (mostly) vegan, etc. They are very transparent about the ingredients in their products so you can see it all on the website. I swear by their eyeshadow and foundation/concealer. So good! Have a great week!

I recently started using Beauty Counter and have really liked what I’ve tried, love the masks and foundation you mentioned. I also really like the charcoal face bar and eye makeup remover. I just got the ultimate nudes and I love it! I really debated since it’s on the pricey side, but it is worth it. I don’t see needed any other eye shadow for a very long time. It’s very versatile and the eye shadow looks great and lasts all day.

I recently went through all this too – same age – and needing to find a solid routine that worked for me. I don’t use BC though, I ended up going with Rodan and Fields and have seen great results with it. Either way, I think you totally get what you pay for. All those over the counter products at CVS or wherever don’t produce results the same way, or you need SO much that you’re actually paying more because you have to buy it more often, or they have so much extra perfume and scent in them that they affect your skin in a different way.

This makes me feel like I do nothing for my skin, and now I’m nervous. I have sensitive skin and would suffer from breakouts and adult acne, but over the years it’s subsided and I believe it’s because I’m using less on my face. I always, always wash my makeup off before bed using a gentle exfoliating wash and then moisturize. About once a week, I’ll exfoliate. And I always use toner. I do want to swap out my products though to ensure they’re cruelty-free. I’m just afraid my skin will freak out!

I’m 34, and people often compliment my skin… I don’t do much! I drink a TON of water and I think that must be the secret? I always tend towards just slightly oily skin, so maybe that helps keep dryness and wrinkles at bay? I really don’t know. I just rinse my face with water in the morning and usually apply a very light non-oily sunscreen with a hint of tint (my dermatologist makes it in-house). I’ll use a bit of concealer to cover any red spots or under-eye circles. I generally don’t wear much makeup unless I’m going in to work, which I do 1-2x/week (the other days I’m home with my 4 kids). At night I wash with either Arbonne “Calm” cleanser or another similarly gentle drugstore one I have but can’t remember the name of, and then I apply a bit of Arbonne Calm moisturizer on my face. A couple times a month I use my Clarisonic. That’s it. I am kinda lazy about beauty stuff and pretty low maintenance and this is working well for me.

The most effective product I’ve added to my anti-aging skincare routine in recent years is Retin-A. I use it every other night or so, and it’s made a huge difference! For eyeshadow, I love all of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes. The colors are gorgeous!

I’m definitely a minimalist! Cleanser, oil, BB cream, and mascara. I’ve gotten so lazy, I’ve even stopped curling my eyelashes 🙂 I had been using BeautyCounter, but have been moving away from them towards more organic products. I recently started using Poofy Organics and AnneMarie Skincare, both of which I like. I use a powdered mineral makeup that I mix with a tinted BB cream, and it could not be easier!

I still use the charcoal mask from BC. When my daughter takes her Sunday night bath, I put on my “monster mask”, and rinse it off when I drain the tub – it’s the only way I remember to do it!

I had no idea you sold BC! I sold it for a while, and still wear it every single day! I LOVE the oils, and wear them combined with the day and night creams. They’ve seriously changed my skin! And girl, you are KILLING 37! 🙂

I started using beautycounter 2 years ago after I had a bad skin reaction to my usual drug store make up. Since that reaction, I have become extremely mindful of the products and make up I use, and have since switched over to everything beautycounter. I’ve tried many “natural” brands, and have not been able to find another that works so well and does not cause a reaction. I highly recommend their eyeshadow! Have you tried the cleansing balm? I’ve been been wanting to try it for winter.

Love this post! Keep em comin!
I struge with adult acne- but like you said, when using products pike the vivant wash my face half falls off lol (i literally scraped off a chunk of skin last week!) I’m not sure of your skin type so I’m curious if you think this routine would work for someone with afukt acne?